George Chang

This article is about George Tsan-hung Chang (Politician). For George Chang (Professor), see George W. Chang.

Chang Tsan-hung
14th Mayor of Tainan
In office December 20, 1997 – December 20, 2001
Preceded by	Shih Chih-ming
Succeeded by	Cho Chun-ying
Personal details
Born	March 1, 1936 (1936-03-01) (age 75) Tainan County (now part of Tainan City), Taiwan
Nationality	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Political party	Democratic Progressive Party
Alma mater	National Taiwan University Rice University California Institute of Technology
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Chemical engineer

George Chang Tsan-hung (traditional Chinese: 張燦鍙; simplified Chinese: 张灿鍙; pinyin: Zhāng Cànhòng; Wade–Giles: Chāng Tsàn-hùng) is a Taiwanese politician and Taiwan independence activist. He was the mayor of Tainan City from 1997 to 2001.

Early years

After graduating from the National Tainan First Senior High School, Chang attended the National Taiwan University to study chemical engineering. In 1961, Chang arrived at the United States to study at the Rice University, where he got his doctorate degree. He taught chemical engineering as a professor at Cooper Union.

During his stay in the US, Chang started taking part in the Taiwan independence movement. He was the first vice chairperson of the World United Formosans for Independence (WUFI), and became its chairperson in 1973.^[1] During the occurrence of the Kaohsiung Incident, Chang also advocated many Taiwanese Americans to support the democratic movement going on in Taiwan.

In 1991, Chang returned to Taiwan. In the same year, he was indicted for "leading a rebellion" (首謀內亂罪). However, because of the amendment of "Crime Law Article 100" (刑法第100條), he was pleaded not guilty in October 1992. He later joined the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and was nominated by the party to run for legislator. However, he was not elected as he only got thirty thousand votes. In 1997, he was nominated by the DPP to run for the mayor of Tainan and was elected with over one hundred thousand. He became the first mayor of Tainan to be a member of the DPP.

Mayoralty

Chang served as mayor of Tainan from 1997 through 2001.

Achievements

Chang is known for his impetus to improve the conditions of the Anping Port, the Tainan Confucian Temple, and the Tainan Canal (台南運河). He also opened many historic sites to night-time visits. He had a goal to spur the cultural and tourist industries by preserving historic sites.^[2]

Under his term, he proposed and carried out many plans to improve the city. These plans include "Flat Road Proposal" (路平專案), "Fixing the Malfunctioning Streetlights Before Sunset, After Reporting" (路燈查報、當天天黑前修復), "Park Adoption" (公園認養), "No Trash on the Ground" (垃圾不落地), and "Recycling" (資源回收), which improved the living quality of the residents. The public security of the city also improved a lot since Chang's term as Tainan ranked second place out of the five provincial city of Taiwan, the first being Keelung. Chang also started the first Voluntary Firefighting Communication Team of the nation, which secured the lives and properties of the residents.^[3]

Scandals

During Chang's mayoral term, he was involved with several scandals. In August 2000, he was indicted by the Tainan District Court (台南地檢署) for his involvement with the Tainan Canal Renovating Construction Scandal (台南運河整治工程弊案). In November, he was indicted again for the Hsinchi Industrial District Scandal (新吉工業區弊案). In 2001, he was indicted for a land requisition scam (土地徵收貪污弊案).^[4] The convictions of all three cases have not been affirmed yet. Chang was not reelected as the result of leaving the DPP.

See also

• Mark Chen
• Tainan County
• Taiwanese localization movement

References

1. ^ "張燦鍙——“獨盟”萬年主席", China.com.cn, 9/4/2002
2. ^ Chang Yu-cheng "南市長選戰／專訪張燦鍙：用人不當才淪落今日　市政已有成果", Eastern Television, September 30, 2001
3. ^ Chang Hsi-yi "張燦鍙的成績單／一、有品質的生活環境　主攻地方建設", Eastern Television, September 30, 2001
4. ^ Jou Ying-cheng "Court detains mayor of Tainan over land scam", Taipei Times, April 19, 2001

Government offices
Preceded by Shih Chih-ming	Mayor of Tainan 1997–2001	Succeeded by Cho Chun-ying (acting)
Political offices
Preceded by Peng Ming-min	Chairperson of the WUFI 1973–1987	Succeeded by Koh Se-kai
Preceded by Koh Se-kai	Chairperson of the WUFI 1991–1995	Succeeded by Ng Chiau-tung

Persondata
Name	Chang, George
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 1, 1936
Place of birth	Tainan County, Taiwan
Date of death
Place of death